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153rd Cavalry Regiment
1st Squadron, 153rd Cavalry First Squadron, 153rd Cavalry "Darkhorse" is headquartered in Panama City, Florida with units throughout the Panhandle. It was formerly 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry and officially re-designated to cavalry on 1 September 2007 when the 53rd Infantry Brigade converted from a "separate brigade" to the brigade combat team structure. Prior to 2006-07 when the Army transformed brigades into brigade combat teams (BCT), the brigade reconnaissance unit was only a single troop; in the 53rd Infantry Brigade it was E Troop, 153rd Cavalry in Ocala. The 2006-07 BCT reorganization disbanded E Troop altogether and converted the 3rd Battalion "Warrior", 124th Infantry into what is the 1st Squadron, 153rd Cavalry. Though E Troop and 1st Squadron share the same coat of arms, 1-153 Cavalry was constituted entirely from the infantrymen of 3-124 Infantry and so continue the 3rd Battalion's lineage.http://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/cav/153cvrg.htm In 1968 a 3rd Infantry battalion of the 124th Infantry was reconstituted and remained a light infantry battalion until 2006-2007 when the battalion converted into the 1-153rd Cavalry Squadron. They specialized in jungle fighting and made many rotations to Fort Sherman, Panama to conduct annual training. 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry was mobilized just prior to Christmas 2002 and moved up to Fort Stewart, GA for training. Most of the battalion deployed to Kuwait in January and were part of the initial invasion of Iraq. One company was attached to the 4th Infantry Division and was on a ship waiting orders to invade through Turkey before Turkey denied U.S. forces entry. Companies of the battalion were attached to 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, and 1st Marine Division during the invasion. In 2004 when 3rd ID left, 3-124 Infantry was attached to 1st Armored Division. The battalion was assigned to downtown Baghdad. Organization (1968-2007) Three years after the cavalry transformation the squadron was mobilized and deployed with the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn. In preparation for their 2010 deployment, the squadron underwent intense pre-mobilization training at Camp Blanding, FL for the entire month of October 2009. They mobilized under Title 10 orders on 2 January 2010 and flew to Fort Hood, Texas for two months of mobilization training. In the first week of March the squadron arrived at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. B Troop deployed to Qatar for a security force mission. HHT, A, and C Troops were stationed at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. A Troop controlled Khabari Crossing at the border of Iraq. C Troop was responsible for quick reaction force (QRF) missions around Camps Buehring and Virginia and an area reaction force mission (ARF) for northern Kuwait. The squadron redeployed and demobilized at Fort Stewart, GA in December, 2010. Organization (2007-Present) Decorations Campaign participation credit World War I * Streamer without Inscription World War II * New Guinea 1943-1944 (with arrowhead) * Southern Philippines 1945 * Aleutian Islands 1942–1943 War on Terrorism * Global War on Terrorism * Liberation of Iraq 2003 * Transition of Iraq 2003-2004 Commanders File:LTC Jay Hall.pdf|LTC Jay Hall, Commanded 124th Armored Rifle Battalion, circa 1950s-January 1959 File:Ralph Davis, 124th Infantry.pdf|LTC Ralph C. Davis, Commanded 124th Armored Rifle Battalion, circa January 1959-60 File:CPT Charles Mohr, Company A, 3-124 Infantry.png|LTC Charles G. Mohr, Commanded 3-124 IN, 1973 File:Colonel Thad W. Hill, Commanded 3-124 IN, Iraq 2003-2004.jpg|LTC Thad W. Hill, Commanded 3-124 IN, Iraq invasion, 2003–04 File:153rd Cavalry Regiment (United States).png|LTC Michael Atwell, Commanded 3-124 IN and 1-153 CAV, 2005–07 File:COL Mike Canzoneri.jpg|LTC Mike Canzoneri, Commanded 1-153 CAV, 2007–09 File:LTC John D. Haas.jpg|LTC John D. Haas, Commanded 1-153 CAV, 2009–12 File:LTC John E. Dethlefs, 153rd Cavalry, Florida National Guard.jpg|LTC John E. Dethlefs, Commanded 1-153 CAV, 2012–13 File:MAJ David Reeder, 53rd Infantry Brigade, Florida National Guard, 2010.jpg|LTC David A. Reeder, Commanding E Troop, 153rd Cavalry Troop E, 153rd Cavalry was first organized in Tallahassee in 1964 as the mounted reconnaissance element of the 53rd Armored Brigade. The troop had tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs). In 1968, a 3rd Infantry battalion was constituted when the 53rd Armored Brigade was re-flagged as the 53rd Infantry Brigade and the Tallahassee unit became A Company, 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry. Troop E was reactivated in Ocala, Florida and deployed to Afghanistan in 2005. The Ocala-based Troop E was disbanded during the Brigade Combat Team reformation in 2006-2007. File:153rd Cavalry Regiment, Troop E, Tallahassee, Florida National Guard.jpg|Tallahassee cavalrymen with Troop E at Annual Training in Fort Stewart, GA in 1964. File:E Troop, 153rd Cavalry, 2006.jpg|Troop E, based in Ocala, goofing off. Circa 2005-06 when the unit deployed to Afghanistan. See also * Troop C, 1-153 Cavalry * 124th Infantry Regiment (United States) * 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat team * 31st Infantry Division * 48th Armored Division * Florida Army National Guard * Leon County in the Civil War * Florida Civil War Confederate Units References *U.S. Army Center of Military History Lineage for 153rd Cavalry *Senger, Dustin. 2010. Florida Guard Online. 153rd Cavalry Soldiers shift to Qatar mission. *Fulghum, Derrol. 2011. Florida Guard Online. Cavalry Soldiers test to earn their spurs. *Callahan, Joe. 2011. Ocala.com Looking back: On patrol with Ocala's soldiers. *Hawk, Robert. Florida's Army: Militia/State Troops/National Guard 1565-1985. Englewood, FL: Pineapple Press Inc. 1986. 153